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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28881921">But I Remember You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiayla/pseuds/Kiayla'>Kiayla</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Amnesia, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Discovery, Genjutsu, Hatake Kakashi-centric, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Murder Mystery, POV Hatake Kakashi, Slow Build, Umino Iruka is Missing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:00:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,971</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28881921</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiayla/pseuds/Kiayla</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The man in question leapt up into the tree beside Kakashi.  "What are you doing out here?  You look like a drowned rat."  The teacher's face held an unusually concerned expression, his own clothes soaked through, his ponytail so wet that it drooped with its own rivulet of water running from the end, loose strands sticking to his skin.  Even this close, Iruka practically had to shout to be heard over the rain and the rushing river.<br/>"On my way back from a mission," Kakashi managed.  "What are you doing out here?  Who's with you?"<br/>"Just me.  I had a feeling," Iruka said vaguely.  "Come on, I know a place."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>93</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>His sandals slapped the wet tree branch, and he felt his foot slip a little before he steadied his foothold with chakra.  He knew better than to get impatient – knew better, but was getting impatient anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stopped, drawing close to the tree trunk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rain was coming down harder, now, and he could barely see through the storm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He considered the sodden earth below him.  He didn't even want to be in the treetops, because he didn't have the chakra to spare, but he could hear a river roaring angrily not too far away, and he knew that being on the ground put him at risk if the river should flood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed, considering his options.  The ground was unsafe to traverse, but his chakra burned so low that continuing to run through the treetops would soon be equally unsafe.  He was still a good half hour away from Konoha, even at full speed.  As much as he hated being in the deluge, he knew that he might have to find somewhere to stay and sleep through the worst of the storm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hated sleeping in the trees during rainstorms, and this was proving to be a particularly bad typhoon.  It didn't help that it was early in the season; he hadn't expected to get caught in a storm like this, or he would have set up camp long ago, while he was still on higher ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grimaced beneath his sopping wet mask.  He'd have to tie himself to a tree trunk.  He was too exhausted to be sure he wouldn't fall out of the tree once he fell asleep, otherwise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Kakashi!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He jerked his head up at the familiar voice, single eye struggling to pierce the gray curtain of rain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Iruka?" he asked, too quietly to be heard, stunned by the appearance of the teacher on the muck below him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man in question leapt up into the tree beside Kakashi.  "What are you doing out here?  You look like a drowned rat."  The teacher's face held an unusually concerned expression, his own clothes soaked through, his ponytail so wet that it drooped with its own rivulet of water running from the end, loose strands sticking to his skin.  Even this close, Iruka practically had to shout to be heard over the rain and the rushing river.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"On my way back from a mission," Kakashi managed.  "What are you doing out here?  Who's with you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just me.  I had a feeling," Iruka said vaguely.  "Come on, I know a place."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka leapt down and looked back over his shoulder at Kakashi.  Kakashi was too tired to move away from the tree trunk, too worried that he would freefall to the ground if he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka leapt back up.  "You okay?" he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just tired," Kakashi said.  It was an understatement.  He hadn't realized how badly the fatigue pulled at his bones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka stepped close and pulled Kakashi's arm over his shoulders before Kakashi could react.  Kakashi let himself collapse against Iruka instead of the tree trunk.  He could hold himself on his own feet, but barely.  Iruka swept Kakashi's legs up in his free arm, carrying Kakashi bridal-style.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka leapt down to the ground, his sandals squelching in the mud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's not far," he said as he began leaping through the trees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi was far too tired to ask, let alone to complain about being carried like a child.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were, Kakashi realized with a mild but growing alarm, going towards the sound of the river, not away from it.  But the exhaustion ate at him, and he couldn't even bring himself to argue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka jogged for fifteen or twenty minutes, conversation stilled by the wind and rain, but being in his arms made Kakashi feel safe, and Kakashi found himself chuckling at the silliness of their circumstance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka began chuckling, too, and his laughter fed into Kakashi's and Kakashi's fed into Iruka's until they were both laughing at the absurdity of it all.  There was something about being with Iruka that made Kakashi feel young and free.  Even the rain couldn't bring down the sense of glee bubbling in his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Through laughter, Kakashi's gaze scraped at the dilapidated building for several minutes before he realized what he was looking at, by which point, they'd drawn close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a surprisingly large building for a waypoint, two stories high, all termite-eaten wood and splintered boards over windows and blackly shadowed eaves.  It probably should have been condemned a decade ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is it safe?" Kakashi shouted over the tempest.  "It doesn't look safe."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know.  It is, though.  It's a safehouse.  Come on."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So saying, Iruka set Kakashi down by the front door and pushed it open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stumbled inside, dripping water all over the front entryway cobblestones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was just as broken down inside as it was outside, but Iruka didn't appear to care.  He kicked off his shoes, so Kakashi did, too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll get them later," Iruka told him when Kakashi tried to bend to pick up the sandals.  If this was a safe house, it was best to keep evidence of their presence out of sight.  "Come on, let's go inside."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka locked the door behind them and helped half-carry Kakashi into the darkness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The building was the sort that might be used as the setting for a horror film, Kakashi reflected distantly.  The broken floorboards, the boarded-up windows, the dirt piled in corners....  Yet, the debris was swept to the sides of the rooms and hallway, the stairs were – except for one broken step – whole, and there were no leaks in the roof.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka helped Kakashi up the stairs to a shockingly clean, well-managed second floor.  Though they could hear rain battering shingles above them, and humidity hung oppressively in the air, the roof kept the water out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They shuffled down to a room at the end of the hall, where Iruka slid open a door and let them in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room, small but so nice as to defy expectation even from a moderately-priced inn, had been outfitted with a small kitchenette.  The smell of humidity and tatami lay like a dusty blanket in the air.  It smelled like home.  Kakashi could see a bathroom attached to the opposite wall of the room, and Iruka helped him that direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I didn't know about this place," Kakashi said accusingly.  He should have known all of the safehouses within a three-hour radius of Konoha.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka tried to shrug beneath Kakashi's weight.  "I don't think anyone other than me uses it anymore," he mused.  "My parents showed it to me, and it was a mess, even then."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka helped him sit on the wooden stool in the shower, then Iruka pulled off his own flak jacket and weapons pouches and hung them on a hook.  He stripped, throwing the rest of his wet clothes on the shower floor with unattractively wet splats.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Come on, let's get you cleaned up and dried off," Iruka said gently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too tired to help, Kakashi let Iruka undress him almost as if he were a doll.  The flak jacket and weapons pouches went up on the hook beside Iruka's; the tantō was leaned up against the wall; the clothes came off and were unceremoniously tossed to the floor beside Iruka's.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"May I?" Iruka asked, already tugging at Kakashi's hitai-ate and mask.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi didn't respond, knowing he didn't need to, and the mask and hitai-ate followed the rest of his clothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka's hands were cold from the rain, but Kakashi's skin was colder.  He shivered as Iruka opened the tap into the bath and ran the shower water for a long moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The spray was blessedly hot against Kakashi's freezing skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How?" Kakashi asked tiredly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It connects to the hot springs," Iruka explained, understanding Kakashi's question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka stood behind Kakashi so Kakashi could lean back against Iruka's steady torso, and Iruka gently rinsed his hair, protecting Kakashi's face from the water with a careful hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mission had been just under two weeks long, and this was the first time he'd really been able to bathe.  The dust and grime and dried blood – not his own – running from his skin and swirling down the drain reminded him of his exhaustion.  He let his open eye fall closed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka's bare skin rubbed against his own as Iruka washed him with scentless soap procured from... somewhere.  The movement would have been stimulating, if Kakashi wasn't quite so exhausted.  He could feel Iruka's body responding to the closeness, though Iruka didn't verbalize it, only continued to wash Kakashi's tired, sore body with a gentleness that Kakashi realized he'd missed terribly during his mission.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once Iruka was satisfied with Kakashi's cleanliness, he turned off the water and helped Kakashi rise to slide into the bath.  He shut off the spigot feeding the bath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hot water made Kakashi begin to feel a little more human almost immediately.  He sank down to his chin, curling against the wooden side, full of unspoken gratitude.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka turned the shower back on and washed himself brusquely and efficiently, keeping one eye on Kakashi to make sure the exhausted man didn't slip beneath the water.  As soon as he was done, he, too, slid into the water, collecting Kakashi in his arms.  Kakashi leaned back against Iruka's chest, eyes closed, and smiled wryly to himself.  So much had changed in the past year or two since he'd really begun getting to know Iruka.  He should have felt on edge, wary and alert, because of his weakness, but instead, he just felt warm and cared for.  Nowhere did he feel as safe as he did in Iruka's arms.  No one did he trust the way he trusted Iruka.  Even here, in an unknown house, helplessly chakra depleted and exhausted, with no safety but that provided by Iruka, he couldn't help but relax his guard and let down his walls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kakashi woke to a post-storm silence.  Somewhere off in the distance, water rushed in the river.  The futon was still warm where Iruka had been lying beside him, but the bedding was cooling rapidly.  A candle had been lit and placed on the counter of the kitchenette, and streaks of dirty gray light broke in between the slats of a window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi sat up groggily, more surprised by how tired he didn't feel than by how tired he did feel.  He must have slept for a long time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His weapons pouches and tantō lay beside him, dry and clean, and his clothes lay folded neatly beside the futon as well.  There was no sign of Iruka.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi dressed slowly, his muscles aching too much to move quickly, but other than the chakra depletion, he felt healthy.  He left his mask pooled around his throat but tied his hitai-ate on over his now-dry hair and Sharingan eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, he was too tired to get up and head back to Konoha immediately, so he busied himself by putting the futon back into the oshīre closet and tidying what little Iruka had left out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka had left out a bento box of cold rice and salt-broiled saury, and upon further exploration, Kakashi realized that the tin cup on the stove carried eggplant miso.  A beaten-up kettle – presumably belonging to the safe house – held steaming hot water, and a mug had been set out with powdered green tea already heaped at the bottom.  Kakashi smiled and applied himself to the food and drink with gratitude.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wished he could have seen Iruka off, but he thought Iruka might have mentioned his own mission, or class, or something.  Kakashi couldn't quite remember what Iruka had said, the night before, because he'd been so exhausted.  Still, it was clear that Iruka had stayed until only just a short while ago, and Kakashi knew that Iruka had stayed until he was sure Kakashi could take care of himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For all that he wasn't safely in Konoha, Kakashi felt surprisingly safe and content.  It certainly didn't hurt that Iruka had made him his favorite foods for breakfast as a welcome home after a long mission.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi cleaned up the dishes, packing Iruka's tin cup, mug, and bento box into a sealing scroll to return to Iruka later.  The kettle, he emptied and placed back into a cupboard, and the counters, he wiped down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi used the toiletries from his field kit to wash up at the sink of the kitchenette before pulling his mask back up over his nose and mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked around the little room.  He could use another hour or two of sitting and staying put before heading back to Konoha, particularly if the ground was very muddy and the trees very wet.  Even rejuvenated as he was by the best full night's sleep he could remember, his bones still ached with fatigue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That decided, he sat down by his weapons and drew his tantō.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tantō was a poor mockery of his White Light Chakra Sabre, but a sword had been a necessary weapon for his mission to the Land of Lightning so that he could blend in with the local people.  He'd chosen a tantō for its familiarity, though it was only his on loan from the armory.  Now that he looked at it, it needed to be resharpened and the hilt wrapping needed to be replaced before he could return it.  He sighed and pulled out a bundle of soft white leather strapping from a pocket of his flak jacket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sharpening the blade took less than half an hour.  He had almost finished wrapping the hilt with the white leather when the ANBU appeared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi continued wrapping the hilt, unperturbed by the sudden appearance of the masked ANBU before him.  He knew Tenzō, and he'd felt Tenzō and two others coming since some time prior.  The other two prowled the perimeter, a seamless team.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How long have you been here, sempai?" Tenzō asked into the stillness only broken by the slight sound of Kakashi wrapping the cord tightly around the handle of the tantō.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Since last night," Kakashi said mildly.  "Got caught in the rain."  He could practically feel the tension of the nerves beneath Tenzō's skin.  Something was wrong, but he knew Tenzō would tell him sooner or later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Who were you with?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi looked up from the sword.  "Why?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The porcelain mask gave away nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There's been another Hyūga murder," Tenzō said instead.  Kakashi started with alarm.  What was that, four in a month, now?  All Hyūga family members, all with the capability to use byakugan.  The unspoken question swirling through Konoha abruptly came back to Kakashi: <i>How?</i>
</span></p><p>
  <span>"Where were you between seventeen and twenty-five o'clock last night, sempai?" Tenzō continued, oblivious to Kakashi's thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi opened his mouth, then closed it again, sharply puzzled.  He didn't remember when he'd fallen asleep, but it must have been after eight or nine in the evening.  That couldn't have been that long after he and Iruka had arrived at this safe house.  But he had no memory of more than a few moments before Iruka had found him, and no memory of anything after the bath, no memory of getting ready to fall asleep.  He must have gone through the motions – his mouth hadn't felt disgusting enough this morning to have missed brushing his teeth last night, and his hair wasn't standing up as if he'd fallen asleep on it while it was still wet – but he had no memory of doing those things.  Except for the brief half hour or hour with Iruka, he had no memory of the time frame provided by Tenzō whatsoever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I was on my way back from my mission, and I stopped here," Kakashi finally said, slowly.  "I must have.  But... I don't remember.  Am I under suspicion?"  He kept his voice level, the tone lazy, but he frantically searched his memory for anything from the night before.  He kept coming up with nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Everyone with water release and fire release is currently being investigated," Tenzō said, revealing without giving away the details that, like the previous Hyūga murders, this last one had been committed with a water-fire combination technique.  "You're not under suspicion, exactly, except...."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi waited until it was clear that Tenzō didn't mean to continue on his own.  "Except...?" Kakashi prompted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"His body was found not too far from here, near the river," Tenzō said reluctantly.  "Who were you with, sempai?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I was with Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said softly, barely registering the tiniest flinch in the frame of the ANBU operative standing over him.  "He was the one who found me and brought me here.  But I don't remember what happened before I ran into him.  I don't remember much after we arrived.  Tenzō, I... I think you'd better take me into custody."  He said it calmly, his voice flat, but his heart had leapt into his throat.  He carefully sheathed the tantō and set it down, moving back from it carefully as though it might bite him.  If he was guilty, and if his memory was no longer working, that meant he was a risk to those around him.  Better that he didn't hold edged weapons.  "I may not have known if I was under genjutsu.  I was too chakra depleted to use my Sharingan."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tenzō hesitated.  "You're not under suspicion, sempai."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Maybe I should be," Kakashi said flatly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Where is Iruka-sensei now?" Tenzō asked instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi shook his head.  "He left before I woke up.  He'd left out food that was still warm, so it couldn't have been long before I woke up, but I don't remember where he said he was planning to go, last night."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sempai," Tenzō said very carefully, "Iruka-sensei has been missing for two days."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"<i>What</i>?" Kakashi demanded, rising.  He swayed, vision going murky for a moment as his blood protested the sudden battle against gravity.  Tenzō caught his arm and steadied him.  "What do you mean, Iruka-sensei has been missing for two days?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He didn't show up at the Academy two days ago, and no one has been able to locate him since," Cat said, letting herself into the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi spun, then immediately crumpled to the ground, too chakra depleted to hold himself up.  "But..." he whispered, looking at his gloved hands where they pressed down against the tatami.  He shivered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tenzō," Kakashi said quietly, a shadow of fear beginning to rise like bile in his throat, "this safe house.  How did you find me here?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could hear Tenzō cock his head slightly with confusion.  "It was the safe house closest to the body, and we found your footprints."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi closed his eye.  "This safe house is in active use."  It wasn't quite a question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes," Tenzō said, sounding more puzzled than before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why didn't I know about it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a long pause.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What do you mean?" Tenzō finally asked.  "We've stayed here before."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi's hands fisted against the tatami.  Something was terribly, terribly wrong, and he was beginning to understand just how wrong it truly was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You need to take me into custody, and that's an order," Kakashi said softly.  "I have no memory of this safe house, no memory of what happened for most of last night, and now I'm not even completely sure I really met Iruka-sensei."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt rather than saw Tenzō and Cat exchange looks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay, sempai," Tenzō said emotionlessly.  "You don't look like you can walk."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm afraid I can't," Kakashi agreed ruefully.  "I'm still exhausted.  But there's no sense in taking any risks."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He climbed slowly to his feet, trying desperately to stand steady, and held out his hands, wrists together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tenzō and Cat both hesitated, but then wood sprang up from the floor, wrapping around Kakashi's open hands, binding them tightly enough that he would be unable to make hand seals, and more wrapped around his ankles, binding his legs together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry for causing you trouble," Kakashi said softly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was so exhausted.  The effort and the battering thoughts were too much, then, and he let darkness envelop him.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
<span>Kakashi woke in a small cement cell, lying on a hard, scratchy cot.  He tried to push himself up and found his wrists bound by chakra suppression cuffs, held together by a short chain.</span>
</p><p>
<span>He rolled onto his side to push himself upright, the thin blanket falling from his side down onto the cot.</span></p><p>
<span>He was dressed in his black shirt and pants sans leg wrappings or gloves, though when he felt his face, he thankfully found his mask over his nose and his hitai-ate over his eye.  He was being held but not yet imprisoned, then, and his cell appeared to be a holding cell in the Konoha Torture and Investigation Force's office – precisely where he would have put himself, if he'd been asked.  The careful way he'd been taken into custody made him feel oddly at ease.  He wasn't sure what had happened, but he found it reasonable to suspect himself of the crimes against the Hyūga family.  He was certainly one of the few people with skill to commit such violence, even against those as skilled as the Hyūgas, and his inexplicable loss of memory did not bode well for his innocence.</span></p><p>
<span>Kakashi leaned back against the cool cement wall and closed his eye, scanning himself internally.</span></p><p>
<span>The chakra depletion was still significant, and with the cuffs, he wouldn't be restoring the chakra any time soon.  His chakra levels weren't, however, so low as to be dangerous.  He wasn't hungry, which told him that it had only been a few hours at most since Tenzō had bound him.  He had a headache, but that was to be expected with chakra suppression cuffs.</span></p><p>
<span>He waited for what he guessed was close to an hour before he heard footsteps echoing down the hallway.  He didn't bother lifting his head away from the wall.</span></p><p>
  <span>
"You're awake," Ibiki's voice said, not unkindly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Yes," Kakashi said.  "I assume Tenzō told you I asked to be taken into custody."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Ordered him, he said," Ibiki agreed, amused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"I remember heading home through the trees–"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Why don't we talk somewhere more comfortable?" Ibiki cut in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi opened his eye and looked over at the head of Torture and Interrogation.  "Why?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Because I don't think you did it," Ibiki said flatly, "and I don't consider you a risk."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"I consider me a risk," Kakashi said, leaning back against the cement and closing his eye again.  "I don't remember my journey home from about two or three hours away from Konoha.  I don't remember when it started raining.  I must have been traveling through the rain for some time, because I was soaking wet, but I don't remember anything until just before I met Iruka-sensei.  If I even actually met Iruka-sensei," he corrected himself.  "I was so chakra depleted that even if I were under genjutsu, I might not have known it.  He brought me to the safe house, which I had completely forgotten existed.  I still have no prior memories of that safe house, even though Tenzō said I've stayed there before.  Iruka-sensei helped me get washed and dried.  I don't remember anything after that until this morning.  Tell me, why don't you consider me to be a risk?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Ibiki shrugged.  "Admittedly, your professed memory lapses are strange and put you under suspicion, but as you pointed out, yourself, you're chakra depleted.  And you've been exceedingly cooperative since meeting with Tenzō and the others."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi sighed.  "Tenzō told me Iruka-sensei has been missing."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Ibiki hesitated.  "Yes."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Are there signs of foul play?" Kakashi asked quietly.  "Since he's under suspicion, my guess is that there aren't, and that he's now either a subject of investigation or considered to be at risk."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Both," Ibiki acknowledged.  "And no, there were no signs of foul play."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"I'm afraid I don't have anything else I can add.  I think a Yamanaka will have to verify my memories," Kakashi said bluntly.  "I wish I could be of greater service."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Ibiki sighed.  "You're too serious, kid."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi didn't allow himself to react.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Come on," Ibiki said, unlocking the door.  "Let's get you something to drink, and we'll meet with Inoichi."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Thank you," Kakashi said.  He was too tired to argue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>He found himself seated in a middlingly comfortable chair in an interrogation room, a mug of hot tea on the table in front of him and Ibiki and Inoichi seated across from him.</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi could feel the drug in the tea running through his body and knew it was nothing harmful, just something that made him more suggestible and thus more likely to answer questions truthfully.  He'd expected such a drug and harbored no ill will against Ibiki for doctoring the tea.  Again, he would have done the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
He repeated his story for Inoichi's benefit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Kakashi-san," Inoichi said slowly, "this rain was caused by a jutsu."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi blinked.  He should have thought of that.  It was too early in the season for such severe typhoon rains, but he'd had no better explanation and had stopped thinking about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"It resembled Water Release: Drizzle, but heavier," Inoichi remarked idly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Water Release: Torrential Downpour," Kakashi said softly.  "It's a hiden that I once saw used by a Kirigakure missing-nin.  That's the only one I can think of that would cause such a big storm."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"We wondered about that," Ibiki said.  "But it's also possible that it's more than one jutsu, or it's a cooperation jutsu."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"It could be," Kakashi said doubtfully.  "But I have a feeling it was caused by a single jutsu.  Either way, it would take either an enormous amount of chakra, or extremely fine control.  Or both."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Could you do it?" Ibiki asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Yes," Kakashi replied instantly, "I believe so.  But I never have.  Not that I know of, anyway," he acknowledged with a grimace, recognizing his memory was too faulty to make such promises.  "It's too nonspecific, and useful more for sieges and other long-term warfare, not for battles.  It's a dirty way to fight, and it endangers civilians, not just ninja."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Mm," Inoichi said noncommittally.  "Who else knows it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi shook his head.  "It's a hiden.  It's not widely known."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Inoichi nodded.  "The rain started during what you have indicated was during one of your lapses in memory," he said bluntly.  <i>Did you do it?</i> was the unspoken question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"I realize that," Kakashi said.  He had no memory of using it, but it seemed unpleasantly likely that he had.  The only problem was that he had no idea <i>why</i> he would have done such a thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"You said you met with Iruka-sensei," Ibiki said, giving Kakashi a sense of topic whiplash.  "When and where was that?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"About thirty minutes northwest of the safe house, I think," Kakashi said, thinking.  "Close enough that I could hear the river, but still far away.  It would have been early evening.  Maybe at eighteen or nineteen o'clock."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"And why did you meet with Iruka-sensei?" Inoichi asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi blinked.  "What do you mean?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"What was the purpose of meeting him?" Inoichi clarified.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi shook his head.  "There wasn't a purpose.  He found me and said he'd had a feeling.  He didn't say what kind of feeling, but...."  Kakashi shrugged.  "It's not the first time."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Inoichi raised his eyebrows.  "No?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"No, I–"  Kakashi frowned.  As certain as he'd been that Iruka had found him on prior occasions, that they'd met outside of the walls of Konoha when Kakashi was returning, exhausted, from a mission, no other specific examples came to mind.  "I don't remember.  I... <i>thought</i> we'd met before.  But I don't recall when."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
He didn't have to look to know that Ibiki and Inoichi were exchanging looks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"When did you first meet with Iruka-sensei?" Inoichi asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"A year or two ago," Kakashi said easily.  "It was...."  His voice threaded into silence.  "I– I don't remember."  He looked up at Ibiki and Inoichi, eye widening slightly.  "I've lost more memories than I realized."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"That would seem to be the case," Inoichi agreed reluctantly.  "I'll be frank with you, Kakashi-san.  Iruka-sensei is highly proficient at genjutsu.  Not a master, by any means, but he is a highly detail-oriented individual by nature.  If you were unable to use your Sharingan...."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"He wouldn't have put me under genjutsu," Kakashi said, trying to sound fierce.  But doubts niggled at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
That sense of safety, that trust, that warmth... could they all have been falsely impressed upon him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Yet something told him that Iruka really was trustworthy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi couldn't even trust his own feelings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"Kakashi-san, do you mind if I take a look at your memories and see if I can find anything?" Inoichi asked in a way that suggested it wasn't a question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"It appears to be necessary," Kakashi said, feeling himself flushing beneath his mask.  Intimate moments with Iruka flashed through his mind like wraiths, half-remembered and half-imagined.  If they were real memories, Inoichi would get a proverbial eyeful.  If they weren't....</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Inoichi leaned forward and placed his palm on Kakashi's forehead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>There was nothing new to be discovered, only blank spaces that did not resist investigation because there was nothing beneath the spaces to resist investigation.  It was as though his ability to form new memories had been completely inhibited at those times.</p><p>
  <span>
There was the sense that he and Iruka had become physically intimate sometime during the past year or two; that they'd met both within the city walls and outside of them; there was a vague sense of emotional and sexual intimacy with no specific memories.  There were blank spaces around each of the Hyūga murders, missing moments from the last month with no explanation.  Yet, at the same time, memories of A- and S-ranked missions, directly delivered by the Hokage, were clear and easy to recall.  It was disturbingly obvious to Kakashi that only moments in Konoha, and moments around beginnings and ends of missions received from Iruka-sensei at the Mission Desk, were missing chunks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi opened his eye as Inoichi withdrew his hand.  Kakashi's head was throbbing, his whole body worn through like frayed canvas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"It could be me, couldn't it?" he asked faintly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Inoichi hesitated.  "Yes, but... I don't think it is.  Or at least, if you're involved, I don't think it's only you.  And I don't believe you're involved willingly, if you're involved."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi looked down at the heavy silver cuffs around his wrists.  The words hung painfully heavy in his heart.  "It could be Iruka-sensei."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
Inoichi sighed, sounding as exhausted as Kakashi felt.  "I think we need to speak to Godaime."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>"There's another warning."  Tsunade's voice was tired and dull as she tossed the paper down on her desk in front of Kakashi.  He picked it up with both hands, still bound in chakra suppression cuffs.  He was framed by ANBU on one side and Ibiki and Inoichi on the other.  "The Hyūgas won't go into protection, so we have forty-eight hours to find the murderer, or we may have another murder on our hands."</p><p>
  <span>
Kakashi looked up from the paper and felt his soul tearing in two.  But his loyalty had to be to Konoha and its people, not to a teacher who had fled like a missing-nin, no matter his own personal feelings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
They were the most difficult words he'd ever said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
"I'll help you find him."</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"'Ru, why don't I remember?" Kakashi asked softly in the darkness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Remember?" Iruka asked, just as softly.  "Remember what?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Anything.  I couldn't remember that safe house, but Tenzō said I've stayed there before.  I don't remember other times we've met, but I know– I thought we have."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You... you don't remember?" Iruka asked, his voice unreadable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi hesitated.  "Not really.  Nothing specific.  Only a sense of what's happened."  He bit his lip.  "I'm sorry."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh," Iruka said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi waited for Iruka to say something else, and the silence stretched between them like a string of sickly sweet syrup.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why don't I remember?" Kakashi asked, hearing a faint note of desperation in his voice.  "What's been happening?  Everyone's said you've been missing."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could hear Iruka's breath hitch slightly in the darkness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I had to leave," he said quietly.  "I... 'Kashi, I don't... I don't remember, either."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi twisted to look toward the teacher, his eye straining to see in the darkness, but there was no light by which he could see the other man's face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are we even...?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The question came breathed from Iruka's lips before it could fall from Kakashi's.  <i>Is our relationship even real?</i>
</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi turned and felt for the curves of Iruka's face and throat, touching the cheekbone, the jawline, the lips that he knew so well, tracing the scar he loved so much, threading into the loose, soft hair, and without realizing it, his mouth had captured Iruka's with a defiant heat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka's mouth opened into the kiss, and the taste of him was so right, so familiar, that it was impossible to believe they didn't know one another this way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And yet....</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And yet, it felt like the first time, like a plethora of flavors and sensations completely new and unknown to Kakashi.  Like something that had been dreamed of, yes, but never experienced before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He broke the kiss and pulled back a little, feeling Iruka's breath brushing over his skin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh, god," Iruka breathed over Kakashi's lips, and Kakashi knew his experience of old-and-new, known-and-unknown, had been the same.  "'Kashi– Kakashi– what's going on?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know," Kakashi said, voice hoarse.  "I don't know.  Do you remember what you were doing when the murders happened?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka hesitated.  "Looking for you, but I don't remember why.  I don't remember how I knew you needed me.  I don't remember how I knew where to find you.  Or even how I got there."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi buried his face in the curve of Iruka's shoulder, and Iruka's arms came around him, holding him close, desperately.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"'Ru, I don't– I don't know what to do."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was all Kakashi could do to keep his breathing deep and even.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fear rarely reared its ugly head in Kakashi's life.  He was used to facing immediate danger, battles filled with adrenaline and razor-sharp focus.  He was used to taking responsibility for the safety of his team, used to seeing teammates bloodied and bruised and dying.  He was used to preparing for battles with innumerable foes, with enemies who were faster, more intelligent, more powerful than himself.  But this....  This was emptiness.  This was a void of the unknown, where he didn't know what to do, didn't know how to prepare, didn't know how to protect the one person that all of him screamed he had to protect – didn't even know if he <i>should</i> protect the one person that all of him screamed he had to protect.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was afraid.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ran his fingertips over Iruka's face, memorizing the curves, the soft mouth, the divet of the scar, the shape of concern etched into Iruka's expressive eyebrows, and he was afraid.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How long–" Iruka began, then his voice choked off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What?" Kakashi asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How long until they take me?" he finally asked, his voice trembling.  "I know they're here, 'Kashi, don't lie to me.  I know you brought them with you to find me."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi stopped, blood cold in his veins.  "Who?" he asked carefully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"ANBU, 'Kashi.  I'm not stupid.  They think I did it, don't they?  They followed you, knowing I would show up."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi bit his lip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes," he finally whispered against Iruka's mouth.  "But we have time."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Time for <i>what</i>?" Iruka demanded, his voice becoming a little shrill.  "'Kashi, I don't– I'm not– I left because I was afraid I did it.  Because I'm afraid I did it.  I had to leave."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"'Ru...."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Kiss me, 'Kashi, please," Iruka's broken voice said quietly.  "I don't know what's real.  Please."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi lifted his head and brought his mouth crashing down on Iruka's, and their hunger grew to a fever pitch in the heat where their mouths met.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What if I did it?" Iruka asked desperately when their mouths broke apart, his hands cradling Kakashi's face in the darkness.  "What if it was me?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It can't have been you," Kakashi whispered fiercely.  "You could never do something like that.  I know you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka wrapped his arms around Kakashi's shoulders and pulled him close.  "Do you?" he asked hollowly.  "Do you know me?  Do <i>I</i> know me?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes," Kakashi growled against Iruka's neck.  "You're kind.  You're protective.  You'd give anything to protect the people around you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A sob hitched in Iruka's throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're too <i>loving</i> to do something like that," Kakashi lashed out.  "You couldn't even kill enemy nin on that mission, remember?  There's no way – no <i>way</i> – that it's you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka trembled.  "But what if it was?" he asked with soft horror.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It wasn't.  It couldn't've been.  'Ru, if it was you, it was me, too, don't you see?  I've been with you every time."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka shook his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"'Kashi, I'm so sorry," he said softly.  "I'm so sorry I dragged you into this."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You didn't."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka took a deep, trembling breath.  "I did."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You didn't," Kakashi said firmly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know why I know, but I'm sure I did.  Please forgive me."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There's nothing to forgive," Kakashi murmured, trying to be soothing.  "You did nothing wrong.  We can go in and get your name cleared.  But we have to do it now.  There's been another threat.  Another murder is going to happen, 'Ru.  We have to get your name cleared and figure out who's committing the murders."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka shook his head.  "I'm so sorry, 'Kashi," he said softly.  He pressed a kiss into Kakashi's hair.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Where is he?" Tenzō's voice demanded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know!" Cat snapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"He can't have gone far!" Boar shouted from another side of the building.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi sat up in the darkness, hands closing on nothing.  The bedroll beneath him was warm where Iruka's body had lain, rapidly cooling.  Iruka had vanished only a moment or two ago, then, but why couldn't Kakashi remember when or how?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What was going <i>on</i>?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sempai," Tenzō snapped, thrusting a torch into the small safe house.  "Where did he go?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi shook his head, wincing against the light, head pounding, as he yanked his mask up over his face again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know," he gasped.  "We were talking, and then– I don't know what happened, and then he was gone."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"He can't just <i>disappear</i>," Tenzō burst angrily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I <i>know</i> that," Kakashi shouted back, scrambling to his feet, the blanket tumbling down around his bare feet.  "But you had the perimeter covered, didn't you?  Where could he possibly have gone?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tenzō growled something indecipherable.  "Cat, go get Inoichi, <i>now</i>."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"On it," she called, flashing off into the forest toward Konoha.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi glowered.  Beneath the bed roll, his ankles had chakra suppression cuffs bound to the floor.  He couldn't go anywhere even if he wanted to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"He didn't do it," Kakashi ground out.  "You heard him.  He doesn't remember any more than I do."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That's what he said," Tenzō snarled.  "We have no way of knowing whether that's true."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi crumpled down to the floor, irritated and far more flustered than he wanted to admit.  For a chūnin to vanish from under the nose of not just himself but three other members of ANBU seemed impossible.  Not just impossible – <i>ludicrously</i> impossible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He bit back a retort and jammed his hands out in front of himself for Tenzō to bind once more, glaring at the floor as though he could bore a hole through the wood with his gaze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do you think you can get him to meet you somewhere between now and then?" Tenzō demanded, waving wood around Kakashi's hands once more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi wouldn't meet the gaze of the porcelain mask.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I could summon Pakkun," Kakashi said softly.  "He could try to track Iruka.  But...."  He stopped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But <i>what</i>?" Tenzō demanded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It won't work," Kakashi said, the fight dying inside of him.  "Even an Inuzuka wouldn't be able to track him."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What makes you so sure?" Tenzō wanted to know.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi looked up.  "It doesn't smell right."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you mean?" Hana asked, walking in, ninken on her heels.  Inoichi was right behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi looked up at her.  "Smell," he offered, indicating the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She paused a moment, presumably to direct chakra into her nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her nostrils flared and her eyes widened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What is <i>that</i>?" she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know!" Kakashi cried out in frustration.  "It smells like–"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Like a summoning," Hana interrupted, eyes narrowing.  "But inside-out.  Like <i>he</i> was summoned."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But that's not...."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One of Hana's ninken whined, and she looked down at him.  "Does he have a summoning contract?" she asked, looking back up at Kakashi.  "He could be summoned by one of the animals with which he has a contract."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi looked over at Inoichi, who frowned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know," Kakashi said finally.  "Not one that I know about, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything, does it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, it doesn't," she agreed.  "His scent ends here, though, you're right."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi climbed back up to his feet, finding the chain between his ankles freed from the wooden floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That's all I can do right now," he said quietly.  "I can meet him again in three days."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The blank porcelain mask turned to look at him, as did Inoichi's gaze.  Hana paid them no mind, instead walking around, following scents.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How do you know that?" Inoichi asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Go into my head and see for yourself," Kakashi said, trying not to sound bitter.  The truth was, he had no idea how he knew that piece of information.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inoichi hesitated, then moved forward and placed his hand on Kakashi's forehead.  He withdrew a moment later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Kakashi-san," he said slowly, "we need your Sharingan."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi laughed humorlessly.  "I can hardly use it when I barely have enough chakra to stand up."  He kicked one bare foot, rattling the chain of the chakra suppression cuff.  "And it's too much of a risk to let me rebuild my chakra."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Admittedly," Inoichi admitted, "it's a risk.  But we don't have many alternatives right now.  We'll go back, and I'll meet with Tsunade-sama to determine the best course of action."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi smiled humorlessly and shrugged.  "Ready when you are," he said dryly.  It wasn't like he had a choice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi found himself back in the cell, the wooden cuffs replaced by chakra suppression cuffs.  He asked for, and was given, his copy of <i>Icha Icha</i> to read while he waited for the next verdict.  But for all that he stared at the page, the words looked like a mess of meaningless lines beneath the worry and the fear running in an electric current below his skin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He waited for less time than he thought he would.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You will be kept under strict watch by no fewer than five members of ANBU while you regain your chakra.  One of the Yamanaka clan will use the Mind Body Switch to utilize your Sharingan when you are next meant to meet with Iruka.  Do you agree?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Maa," Kakashi said lazily from the cot, "is that a request, or an order, Tsunade-sama?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's a request unless you say no," she said, lips pressed into a humorless smile.  "We need to know where he is and how he's disappearing."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I won't be able to recover enough chakra before the deadline," Kakashi said quietly, closing his book and setting it down.  "What will happen to the Hyūga?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"They're refusing protection," Tsunade said, mouth thinned into a line.  "So we accept that there's nothing we can do, and try to stop the next murder."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi sighed.  "I see.  And of course I accept."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Kakashi...."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked over at her with his half-lidded gaze.  "Yeah?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We're trying to figure this out as quickly as we can."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi let his eye curve into a smile over his mask.  "If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't've turned myself in," he said, forcing cheerfulness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tsunade sighed.  "Your relationship with Iruka-sensei...."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The smile dropped from his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You know it may not be real, right?" she asked softly.  "It may be an implanted memory.  Even Iruka acknowledged that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi looked away, unwilling to speak.  <i>That doesn't make it not real</i>, he wanted to say, but the truth was, he had no idea what was real anymore, either.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They found Kakashi unconscious in the mud two kilometers away from Konoha, only a few hundred meters from the body of the next murdered Hyūga.  The chakra suppression cuffs had been replaced by a barrier that should have prevented escape; no one, including Kakashi, knew how he had gotten out of the barrier, let alone how he had gotten two kilometers, barefoot, looking no worse for wear, other than the mud that had splashed over him and the low-grade hypothermia invading his body.  Rain had washed away any and all tracks around him or the body of the Hyūga clan member.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The barrier became as much protection for Kakashi against the Hyūga family as it became a means of trying to keep Kakashi close, after that, since the Hyūga family had learnt of his potential involvement and demanded retribution.  He was moved to a top-secret location that was kept classified for the next two days as his chakra levels grew once more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was very strange, to be a helpless observer in his own body.  Inoichi took control and went where Kakashi directed him: to a different area, though Kakashi wasn't sure why.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It became clear when Inoichi/Kakashi slumped back against the tree.  Iruka appeared in the trees, gazing down at them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who's with you?" he asked softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inoichi tipped Kakashi's head up to look at Iruka.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There are ANBU half a kilometer away," Inoichi said with Kakashi's voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka cocked his head like a curious dog.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And who are you?" he asked quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inoichi blinked.  "Kakashi," he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, you're not," Iruka said.  His voice was gentle, but his eyes flashed with steel.  "I know your voice."  He appeared to be thinking hard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><i>Tell him</i>, Kakashi urged silently.  <i>He already knows</i>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Inoichi," Inoichi said.  "But I'm here to help."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka narrowed his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We think someone is manipulating your memories," Inoichi said in Kakashi's voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But you don't think you can trust either Kakashi or myself," Iruka said, understanding but clearly unhappy about it.  "I was going to suggest a safe house, but this will be adequate, then, I suppose."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inoichi made Kakashi's body climb to his feet, and Iruka took a step back on the branch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'd like to speak to Kakashi," Iruka said quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inoichi frowned, but stepped back in Kakashi's mind, sharing the space that was Kakashi's body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"'Ru," Kakashi said, looking up.  "It's me."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could see the emotions flickering across the expressive face of the teacher in the tree above him.  Fear, yearning, wistfulness, terror, longing, sorrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There's another one in a week," Iruka said, finally.  "I found the message written in the dirt this morning when I woke up.  Inoichi-san, I know you don't believe me, but I promise you that it's true."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi glared internally at Inoichi as recognition flickered in Inoichi's mind.  The warning had come to Konoha, too, then.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><i>Let me talk to him.  Please</i>, he told Inoichi.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inoichi hesitated but acquiesced.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I believe you, 'Ru," Kakashi said gently.  "'Ru, I– I want to hold you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka bit his lip and put a hand out against the tree trunk as if to steady himself.  "I want that, too, 'Kashi," he whispered.  "But we don't even know–"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't <i>care</i>," Kakashi said pleadingly.  "I don't care if it's just fake memories.  It doesn't change how I feel."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka frowned.  "'Kashi– Kakashi.  You're too important to Konoha.  You can't– you can't let yourself–"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stopped, his voice choked into silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi understood.  It was very possible that someone had found a way to create a weakness in Kakashi of the Sharingan where one may not have existed before.  That his feelings were only someone's means of controlling him, or of taking him out of commission.  Either option was disturbingly possible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"'Kashi, the next one–"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka's voice cut off again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What?" Kakashi prompted.  "The next one?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's–"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iruka stopped again, his knuckles whitening as his hand fished on the bark of the tree.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Don't wait up for me," he said quietly.  "I have a feeling it's going to be over soon.  Just... take care of yourself, okay?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inoichi moved, quick as a flash, to shove the hitai-ate off Kakashi's eye, revealing the Sharingan, too late to see what had happened in the unknown amount of time that had passed between the time Iruka had vanished and the present moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"<i>Dammit</i>," Inoichi hissed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><i>What did he mean?</i> Kakashi demanded of Inoichi.  <i>Tell me what he meant!</i></span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inoichi shut Kakashi out, ignoring Kakashi's furious railing as they made their way back to the hidden prison cell.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Kakashi knew.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Someone had threatened Iruka.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next week crawled by too slowly for words.  The barrier was maintained so that Kakashi could build up his chakra to use the Sharingan for a greater amount of time.  This time, however, the barrier was lowered just prior to the promised time of the next murder, his hitai-ate lifted, Inoichi comfortably in control of the body of the Copy Nin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>White-hot pain blossomed on the left side of Kakashi's skull above the tenketsu chakra point just below his ear.  Inoichi was jolted from Kakashi's mind by the ferocious burning in Kakashi's Sharingan as the chakra pathway feeding it was blocked off.  Kakashi was alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That was almost a good idea," the smooth-as-butter voice said in Kakashi's ear, a man's voice, soft and cool.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi spun, weaponless hands raised defensively, chakra molding around his palms.  The lavender-white irises of the Hyūga burned into Kakashi's mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But lightning-fast strikes numbed his arms and killed the chakra flow, and Kakashi collapsed, cursing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Inoichi hadn't insisted on taking control – if he'd been allowed weapons – if they'd been more careful with the barriers – if, if, if!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could feel the chakra of his ANBU guard, all slowed to a sluggish pace by genjutsu or byakugan or who knew what, and he understood the odd passage of time each time one of the murders happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why?" he asked, his palms pressing into the dirt and he fought to stand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You wouldn't understand," the voice said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last thing he saw was the cursed seal of the Hyūga branch houses, and then everything went black.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the pain that woke him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi groaned and slowly rolled onto his side.  His arms hurt, his head hurt, his whole body hurt.  His Sharingan, in particular, burned with throbbing pain.  He pulled his hitai-ate over it, which helped, a tiny bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blinking his natural eye, he forced himself to climb unsteadily to his feet.  Dirt clung to his arms and clothes, falling down in clumps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fire burned around him, smoke filling his lungs even through his mask, and he coughed violently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt the flare of Iruka's chakra far away, too far, flickering ever fainter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eye widened.  He pushed up the hitai-ate and opened his Sharingan eye before being blinded with white-hot pain that sent him reeling back into the dirt, and the attack that had first sent him into unconsciousness came back in a flash.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried to get up again, stumbling forward, feeling that flicker of chakra growing ever fainter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eye widened as it flickered out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then it came back, burning low.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It flickered out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fire roared in the trees around him, his skin stretched tight by the heat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka's chakra flickered back to life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hands ran through the seals even before he was fully aware of what he was doing, and with his growled, "Water Release: Drizzle!", black stormclouds began to swirl overhead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first drops of rain fell, hissing in the fires of the forest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka's chakra signature flickered out once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <i>More</i>, he told himself, gritting his teeth behind his mask.  The drizzle wasn't enough.  Iruka was suffocating, or burning to death, and he couldn't get to Iruka fast enough.  He ran through the hand signs, slammed his hands to the ground, and yelled, "Water Release: Torrential Downpour!"
</p><p>
  <span>Because he understood, now, why he needed the torrential downpour: not for warfare; to save Iruka.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Water began drowning the earth from the heavens.  Ash blew through the air, colored orange by dying flames, as Kakashi began staggering in the direction of Iruka's chakra, once more flickering tenuously to life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The jutsu had chewed through most of the chakra he'd regained over the past week, but he didn't care.  The only thing that mattered was getting to Iruka.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He staggered between groaning, creaking trees that shattered, blackened and heavy with water, around him.  He was barely able to walk, but he was going to be crushed if he didn't <i>move</i>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He forced himself to leap into the trees between dying flames, vision blurred by smoke and heat as he sought out Iruka.  The blackness at the edges of his vision tore at him like a rabid animal, and he found himself less and less able to keep it at bay.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head, thrusting away a sense of déjà vu as he barely caught himself on the rain-slicked branch with residual chakra.  He couldn't quite remember where he was or why, only that he was going towards the bright chakra flame that was Iruka.  He must be returning home from a mission, if he was this exhausted, leaping through the trees, through the pouring rain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slid from the branch and collapsed to the mud, warm arms barely catching him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"'Kashi, what are you doing out here in this weather?" Iruka asked scoldingly.  "I thought I told you to go home after your mission."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi looked up at Iruka and smiled exhaustedly.  "Had to see you, 'Ru," he said, raising his voice over the heavy rain of the typhoon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka rolled his eyes but smiled.  He was soaked to the bone, his hair loose in wet hanks around his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Where's your hitai-ate?" Kakashi asked, frowning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka paused, confused.  "I'm... not sure," he said, puzzled.  "Must've left it at the safe house when the downpour started.  Come on, let's get you dry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi leaned heavily against Iruka, barely able to stand.  Iruka swept him up into a bridal carry and began running into the trees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The safe house was a small building, barely a cottage, but it was dry, and there was a fire already burning in the hearth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka stripped his wet clothes, setting his flak jacket over a chair to dry, then helped Kakashi out of his clothes until they were both bare down to their underwear.  He hung their clothes over a clothes drying rack near the fireplace to dry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka trotted off, then returned only a moment later carrying a large wool blanket and several towels.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sit down and warm up," he ordered Kakashi, parking the man in front of the fireplace on a few towels.  "I'm going to make tea."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait– 'Ru," Kakashi pleaded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka hesitated.  "What's up, 'Kashi?" he asked gently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Will you please just... sit with me for a little while?" Kakashi asked plaintively.  "I know– I know we don't know, but–"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka hesitated again, then settled onto the towels beside Kakashi, letting Kakashi wrap the wool blanket around them both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Something's going to happen," Kakashi said, burying his face in Iruka's wet hair.  "Something bad.  I can feel it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka hesitated.  "I know.  I can feel it, too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stay," Kakashi said, snaking his arms around Iruka, feeling the rain-chilled flesh beneath his arms.  They were both freezing, fire notwithstanding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"For you, 'Kashi, anything," Iruka murmured into Kakashi's wet hair.  He wrapped his arm around Kakashi's shoulders and gently brushed damp locks of hair away from Kakashi's forehead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed like this, in front of the fireplace, for nearly an hour, until they were both dry and their bodies warm.  Kakashi ran a hand over Iruka's chest and shoulder, feeling satiny skin that didn't know the same harsh battle life that Kakashi's skin knew.  Iruka shuddered beneath his palm, Iruka's nose buried in his hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka lifted one hand to touch Kakashi's bare face, his fingertips running over Kakashi's cheekbone, brushing feather-light over the long vertical scar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi looked up, feeling Iruka's warmth leaving his hair, and met brown eyes with his gray one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka twisted and leaned forward, close, so close, then hesitated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi closed the distance between them, his mouth meeting Iruka's in a soft, chaste kiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kiss was followed by another, and then Kakashi darted his tongue out to taste Iruka's lower lip.  Iruka opened his mouth into the kiss with a soft moan, just hummed under his breath, and Kakashi took the invitation hungrily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They slid down onto the towels, Iruka holding Kakashi's chakra depleted body and lowering him down, then Iruka came down to kiss him again, and again, and again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi writhed at the warm hand running up over his chest, moaning into Iruka's mouth as his body felt like it was bursting into the most delicious flames.  It didn't matter whether their past together was real; this was unequivocally real, and everything Kakashi wanted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a tentative knock on the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka made a discontented noise and looked over his shoulder at the door, but Kakashi brought one hand up to capture Iruka's face and bring his gaze back down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Forget them," he murmured beneath the hammering rain on the roof.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's raining, 'Kashi," Iruka said against Kakashi's mouth with a sigh.  "Hard.  We can't just leave them out there."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi sighed heavily.  "You're right," he said reluctantly.  "Okay."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka helped him sit up as the tentative knocking came at the door again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"One moment!" Iruka called towards the locked door.  He tossed Kakashi his mostly-dry shirt and mask and uniform pants before trotting off to find a spare uniform for himself.  His own was too muddy and torn to be worn without cleaning and mending.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka hopped out from the secondary room, pulling the shirt over his head, already wearing pants, as he went to the door.  Kakashi had pulled on the damp uniform shirt, leaving his mask up over his face.  It was unpleasantly cold, but he prefered to have his face covered, particularly if he didn't know who was about to join them.  He awkwardly pulled on his still-damp uniform pants, moving closer to the fire to try to get them to dry faster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I n– n– need help," came a frail voice at the door.  A child's voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka shot Kakashi a look, and Kakashi grabbed a kunai, palming it and sliding it up his sleeve.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka opened the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The child, a Hyūga, stood bedraggled and soaked under the pouring rain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hurry, come in," Iruka said gently.  "What are you doing out there?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I g– got lost," the little boy said, shivering hard as he stepped in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Come in, and I'll get you a towel," Iruka said quickly, shepherding the boy into the room and closing the door.  "What's your name?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka trotted off to get a towel, the boy following as he said, "Hyūga In-ei."  Kakashi frowned.  He didn't recognize the first name, but perhaps that was merely a function of the size of the Hyūga family.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were scuffling noises as Iruka looked for the towel, then, a moment later, the Hyūga boy came back out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He t– told me to s– sit by the f– f– fire," the boy chattered to Kakashi shyly between his heavy shivering.  He had a towel wrapped around himself.  "He off– offered to fill a b– bath for me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Certainly, that sounded like exactly what Iruka would do.  Kakashi shifted aside to make room for the boy, his eye lazy but his awareness sharply on the small body beside him.  Something was setting his nerves on edge, making his teeth hurt like the screech of nails on a blackboard, but he wasn't sure what.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why are you this far away from everything?" Kakashi asked conversationally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I was with my friends," the boy mumbled shamefacedly.  "I know we're not supposed to leave Konoha, but we were just playing, honest.  We just wanted to explore."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi looked over the boy.  He couldn't have been more than eight or nine years old.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Where are your friends?" he asked.  "We should find them, if they're out there."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy shook his head.  "I got lost.  We were supposed to go home hours ago, so I think they must have gone home by now.  I've been by myself for hours."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi frowned.  This boy didn't seem muddy enough to have been lost for hours.  And his speech and mannerisms were oddly adult for a child.  Something was off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was too quiet.  There was no running water for a bath, no Iruka pottering around in the next room.  He resisted the urge to dash to the next room to check on Iruka.  If the boy was a threat, it would do no good to alert the boy to the fact that Kakashi was deeply suspicious of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll make you some tea," Kakashi said, carefully nonchalant, as he pushed himself to his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's okay," the boy said quickly.  "You look cold, too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi curved his eye in a faked smile over his mask.  "I am, which is why I'd like some hot tea, myself," he said cheerfully.  "And I'm sure Iruka-sensei will, too, once he's done filling that bath."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh.  Th– thank you," the boy stammered, still chattering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi put the blanket on the boy's shoulders and went to the small kitchen, poking around until he found a kettle.  He filled the kettle and put it on the heat, his eye on the stove but his attention still fixed on the boy.  A Hyūga, no matter how young, could certainly be a threat.  The Gentle Fist fighting style could incapacitate even Kakashi if he wasn't careful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I think we have some spare clothes," Kakashi said lazily.  "You're soaked.  Let me go get some for you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, it's okay.  I'm drying off fast," the boy said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi plastered on a fake smile over his mask.  "It's no trouble, and your parents would certainly blame us if you caught cold because we didn't make sure you were dry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of– of course," the boy stammered.  "I can go with you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stay put," Kakashi said, firmly but, he hoped, kindly.  "It's a lot warmer by the fire.  I'll be back in just a moment."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy's fake smile was even less convincing than Kakashi's, but Kakashi flickered to the second room, closing the door and leaning against it to hold it closed, sliding the deadbolt locked, his eyes fixed on Iruka.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka was standing in the center of the room, a vacant look on his face that spoke of genjutsu.  But something seemed... off, even for genjutsu.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"'Ru?" Kakashi whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka turned towards Kakashi's voice, but there was something dark in his expression, frightened and ready to snap like a cornered mongrel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blast of boiling-heat steam caught Kakashi's arm as he dodged, instantly burning one arm.  He collapsed to the floor with a cry, too burned out of chakra to do more.  This was the attack that had killed each of those Hyūga family members, Kakashi realized, and it would kill Iruka when he realized that he had in fact been the one to murder them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But there was no time to think about that now.  "<i>Kai</i>!" Kakashi yelled through gritted teeth, fists forced into the hand sign, but it was instantly obvious that he didn't have enough chakra to shove into Iruka to break the illusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rolled over his burned arm as another blast of wickedly hot steam struck the floor where he'd just been struggling to stand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kunai dropped from his sleeve into his palm, and he threw it with vicious strength.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka screamed with the pain as it struck his shoulder with such force that he stumbled into the wall.  One hand went to the shoulder, blood pouring over the wound, and Iruka looked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The brown eyes were still flat.</span>
</p><p>
  <i>That should have</i> shattered <i>the genjutsu</i><span>, Kakashi barely had time to think in horror as another blast of steam struck the floor, catching his leg and bare foot.  He cried out and rolled, favoring that side, warily limping in a silent circle around Iruka, pulling his chakra in tighter than he'd ever done, even during his time in ANBU.  Between his burned arm and foot and his chakra depletion and his unarmed state, he only had one chance, he knew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He lunged from behind Iruka, wrapping his arms tightly around the other man's, pinning the brunet's arms to his sides.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"'Ru, 'Ru, it's me, Kakashi," Kakashi gasped in Iruka's ear, his burned arm losing strength with the pain as Iruka struggled violently.  Kakashi grabbed his burned wrist with his good hand, gritting his teeth against the screaming pain shooting up his arm, desperate to keep Iruka's arms pinned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"'Ru, stop, it's me, Kakashi," he kept begging, shoving as much of his own chakra as he could into Iruka's body.  "'Ru, please.  Please, 'Ru, stop," he pleaded, even as his vision filled with white spots of agony.  He could feel his good hand losing its strength, and then he was slumping to the ground, crumpling to the floor, as Iruka turned and lifted his hand in the hand seals to boil him in his own skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I love you, 'Ru," he breathed as everything went dark.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first thing Kakashi noticed was the sensation of stinging, burning pain along his right arm and leg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The second thing he noticed was that he wasn't dead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He opened his eye, wincing against the light.  He was lying on a bed, and based on the sensations shooting up his limbs, salve and bandages had been applied to the burns.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, god, 'Kashi," he heard, a reverent, horrified whisper.  "Oh, thank god."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi turned his head, holding back a groan of pain but unable to keep back the silent grimace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka was sitting on the bed beside him, head bowed, tears flowing freely down his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi smiled.  "You're much cuter when you smile," he managed to get out through his throat, tightened with pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka curled over against Kakashi's uninjured side, clutching Kakashi's shirt with one hand.  The other seemed to be held against his own chest, the wound untended and still bleeding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You didn't–"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm so sorry," Iruka choked out.  "I'm so sorry, 'Kashi, I didn't–"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know," Kakashi said gently.  "What happened to the boy?  The Hyūga boy?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka looked up with glassy eyes.  "I don't know," he said, face twisted in agony.  "What Hyūga boy?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The one who– of course.  You don't remember, do you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Remember what?" Iruka breathed, trembling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A Hyūga boy came by, said he was lost, and you went to get him a towel.  He came back out to the main room by himself."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka shook his head.  "I only remember... we got here.  We were drying off.  Then...."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi nodded slightly, trying to ignore the pain in his arm as he did.  "Right.  Are we locked in?  We need to make sure he can't get in.  He's the one who put you in a genjutsu."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka hesitated, then stumbled to his feet, working quickly to throw barriers up.  They were shoddy, but better than nothing, and significantly better than any Kakashi might have been able to put up at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can't– neither of us is in any shape to– we can't go out there.  I tried to release the genjutsu.  I knew I was in one, but I couldn't–"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's okay.  You did the right thing," Kakashi said with a sigh.  "ANBU were on our tail.  They'll take care of it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"'Kashi, I did it, didn't I?" Iruka said, voice broken.  "I killed those poor people."  His fingertips ghosted over the bandages on Kakashi's arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It wasn't your fault," Kakashi said tiredly.  "That genjutsu didn't even break when I hit you with a kunai, 'Ru.  It wasn't a normal genjutsu.  There's nothing you could have done differently."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But–"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No buts, 'Ru.  Let's get you bandaged up, come on."  Kakashi tried to struggle upright, but Iruka leaned against his chest, holding him prone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka shook his head stubbornly.  "It's fine.  You shouldn't move around."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't 'it's fine' me," Kakashi growled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka's knuckles were white where his fist knotted in Kakashi's shirt.  "You said ANBU will be here soon," he said softly.  "They'll take care of it when they arrest me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"'Ru...."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka looked up, his eyes shining with tears, face contorted with guilt and shame.  "I did it.  I ought to be put in prison."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And I covered your tracks," Kakashi snarled.  "Iruka, listen to that rain.  Do you hear that?  That's the result of a hiden that I copied.  We both did it, do you understand?  It wasn't just you.  And neither of us did on purpose, you hear?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka shuddered, curling back over Kakashi's chest as he sobbed.  "I'm so sorry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't be ridiculous," Kakashi said with a sigh.  "There's nothing for you to be sorry about."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm a murderer," Iruka cried, choking on the words.  "I'm a <i>murderer</i>, 'Kashi, oh, god, and I almost did the same to <i>you</i>!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But you didn't," Kakashi reminded him, shuddering.  He remembered going through these same feelings, this same guilt, when his hand had burst through Rin's chest, vaporizing her heart.  "'Ru.  Get ahold of yourself."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"'Kashi, how can you–"  His breath hitched in his throat.  "How can you even suggest such a thing?  How could I get ahold of myself at a time like this?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know how you feel," Kakashi said quietly.  "Only I <i>did</i> kill someone I cared about, remember?  I'll be okay, though.  I'll recover.  You didn't kill me.  I'm telling you, everything will be okay."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka's fist tightened.  Kakashi wriggled to free his arm, laying his own palm over Iruka's clenched fist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"'Ru, it'll all be okay," Kakashi said firmly.  "I promise you.  I'll make sure it will."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How can you possibly <i>say</i> that?" Iruka wept.  "You might get off – you're the Copy Nin, for heaven's sake – but I'm just a schoolteacher, 'Kashi, and I'm the one who committed <i>murder</i>."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I promise you," Kakashi said softly.  "I'll never rest until it's set right.  It wasn't your fault.  I promise you, 'Ru."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka shuddered, biting back more sobs, but his fist was still clenched tightly.  "I'm just glad you'll be okay," he finally whispered against Kakashi's chest.  "Let me take the fall, 'Kashi.  It'll be enough, if you're free."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't be stupid," Kakashi said flatly.  "Come here, love."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka jerked his head up and stared, wide-eyed, at Kakashi.  "You...."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi reached up and wiped the tears from Iruka's face with a gentle thumb.  "I love you, yes, 'Ru," he said softly.  "I loved you yesterday, I love you today, and I'll love you tomorrow.  Hush, now, 'Ru, my love.  Will you gift me with a kiss?"  He reached up and pulled his mask down around his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka hesitated and wiped his cheeks and face with the back of a hand.  "I'm gross and I'm covered in snot," he said, and then he began laughing and sobbing at the same time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I couldn't care less," Kakashi told him with a small smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"'Kashi, what we have– is it even real?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's real enough for me," Kakashi said flatly.  "I can't tell you if it's real enough for you, but it's real to me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka gently brushed his fingertips over Kakashi's cheek, his face tortured.  "It's real to me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi smiled.  "We'll get through this.  I promise.  If it's the last thing I do, I'll make sure we get through this."  He cupped Iruka's face in his palm, guiding him into a soft kiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka began to choke on sobs again.  "Don't leave me," he begged against Kakashi's mouth.  "Please don't leave me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I won't," Kakashi said into kisses he pressed against Iruka's lips.  "I swear to you that I'll stay with you."</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It took screaming, threatening – both others and himself, bribery, some <i>very</i> loud and out-of-tune singing of grotesquely bawdy songs, and otherwise generally making a nuisance of himself, but after the ANBU operatives extracted them from the house and threw them into their cells in Torture and Interrogation, Kakashi finally got them to put him and Iruka in a single cell together.  He told them, bluntly, that he didn't care if he had to sleep on the cement floor; if they didn't put him in a cell with Iruka <i>now</i>, he was going to make their lives a living hell until the day he drew his last breath.  He did his best to demonstrate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Inoichi, being married – and friends with Shikaku and thus familiar with Shikaku's wife – understood and went into their minds, and then, when he had plumbed the depths of their memories, told Ibiki to put them in a cell together.  It had taken about six hours before they were reunited, and Ibiki had undergone a small meltdown, which Kakashi suspected was the only reason he agreed with Inoichi.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Being that the cells were only meant for individuals, this meant that there was only a single cot, but neither Kakashi nor Iruka cared.  At night, they slept pressed together on the cot, holding one another through the longest week of either of their lives as they waited with bated breath to learn what the other's sentence would be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They whispered for long hours into the nights, talking and filling in blanks of memory, learning about one another.  And they explored one another's bodies insomuch as they could, while remaining clothed – Ibiki made it clear that clothing had to stay on or they would be separated and, in the case of Kakashi, gagged – and pressed together on a too-small cot.  Iruka reminded Kakashi to eat, and Kakashi held Iruka when the nightmares began.  They took care of one another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were told nothing about the investigation or their upcoming trials.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a week later that the Hyūga was found.  He was not, it turned out, a boy, but an adult who had transformed into a child form and took the false name In-ei.  It was fortune alone that gave them the identity of the man, whose name was Kussetsu: the man's daughter's cousin, from a different branch house, had once seen In-ei in Kussetsu's house and recognized the drawing Inoichi had commissioned.  Within two days, Ibiki had his confession.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi and Iruka learned, just hours before the trial, what had happened: angry at the main family, and believing himself on a righteous mission, Kussetsu had vowed to purge the family of the main branch.  He had blamed Iruka for perpetuating the distinction between the houses by teaching Hinata and Hanabi at the Academy, and thus had targeted Iruka.  He had targeted Kakashi for the reason that Kakashi was the sole surviving Hatake, and the biggest potential threat to the plot's success.  Between his use of genjutsu and byakugan, Kussetsu had manipulated the two of them into the wrong places at the wrong time – but it was revealed, ultimately, that Iruka had never committed the crimes in question, and, in fact, Kussetsu, himself, had committed the murders, merely using Iruka as a convenient scapegoat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi stood, ANBU-tall, before the Elders as they read the charges against him and Iruka.  Beside him stood Iruka, wilted a little but stubbornly hanging on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka was charged with abandoning Konoha.  He had been trying to protect those around him, reasoning which, it turned out, had been implanted by Kussetsu's genjutsu.  He was found not guilty, since he had been manipulated into fleeing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi, however, faced the more serious charges of obstruction of justice, and of aiding and abetting the murder of five Hyūga family members.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Inoichi, Ibiki, Tenzō, and Cat each testified that Kakashi had not only cooperated with them every step of the way, but in fact even advised them to take him more seriously as a potential threat, since his memory had been tampered with.  The Elders reluctantly found him not guilty as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were free to go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kakashi slid his fingers between Iruka's as they left the tribune, squeezing once, gently.  Iruka squeezed his fingers back before they allowed their hands to fall apart once more.  Kakashi almost slid his hand into his pocket but then, at the last moment, changed his mind and let his arm hang at his side, the back of his gloved hand subtly brushing Iruka's.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Kakashi-san, Iruka-sensei," came Inoichi's voice, echoing quietly down the hall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They turned and waited as Inoichi sauntered at his own pace up to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you so much for your help," Iruka said, bowing with deep gratitude.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's my line," Inoichi said, a smile gentling his face.  "We couldn't have caught him without you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iruka wore a forced smile, clearly convinced this was untrue, but he held his tongue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Would you...."  Inoichi hesitated.  "We learned some things about your relationship with one another, of course," he said.  "Would you like to know?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi and Iruka traded a look.  Both looked back at Inoichi, smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you, but we already know what we need to," Kakashi said.  He let the back of his gloved hand brush up against Iruka's.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We appreciate your concern, but we'll be okay," Iruka agreed, hooking one finger briefly around one of Kakashi's.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They bowed to Inoichi, then turned back and walked out into the open air of Konoha.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything would be okay.  They had the rest of their lives to make sure of it.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I want to thank all the lovely, wonderful people who have left me kudos/comments on this!  It means way more than I would ever be able to find the words for.  Thank you so much for making my day!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This was based strongly on a dream I had.  It was pretty fun to dream, but it ended before the story did, which is why the ending is a little abrupt.  I may or may not go back and fix it.</p>
<p>Unbeta'ed; feedback welcome, flames ignored.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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